Geithner's laxity--and ours

As I watched Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs offer an unconvincing defense of Treasury Secretary-in-waiting Tim Geithner's tax-challenged ways during an appearance on Fox News Sunday, I found myself thinking: if this were a Republican nominee, liberals (e.g., me) would be rightly incensed.

But as the Globe's Joan Vennochi notes today, the double standard that Geithner is benefitting from might not just be about party. It might be about gender, too.

Also, lest anyone suggest that Geithner's credentials are impeccable, I'd also suggest this New York Times editorial from mid-December, which raised troubling questions about the role that the Fed--and Geithner--played in allowing Lehman Brothers' demise last fall.